The Deal
Part 2
by Dyna Dee
Duo's body was rigid, an instinctive reaction to Heero's sudden and very
unexpected kiss, but he wasn't slow by any means. The slight dip gave away the
game being played and he quickly decided to go along with Heero's ruse.
Wrapping his arms more tightly around his friend's back, he returned the kiss with
a slight moan in order to give the ladies watching them a very convincing show.
Tilting his head to the side, his tongue tangoed with Heero's as he began mapping
out the insides of his friend's mouth. Umm... he tasted like spearmint, and for a
brief moment he dared to believed that the dreams he'd set aside a long time ago
were now, amazingly, coming true.
Opening his eyes just slightly, he glanced over Heero's shoulder to see the
women, standing shoulder to shoulder, mouths hanging open and looking at them
with expressions akin to being shell shocked. From all appearances it seemed
they had done a thorough job of dissuading two females from throwing themselves
at Heero in the future. Duo pulled back and laughed a bit nervously. Feeling the
heat in his cheeks, he looked at Heero from under the fringe of hair draped over
his forehead and asked, "So, ya gonna invite me in or do we get it on in the
hallway?" He was somewhat relieved to see his friend looking as flustered as he
felt. He shifted his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, making sure the two women
could see him do so and come to their own conclusions.
"Um... sure," Heero replied, letting Duo go so that he could stand on his own
before he fished into his pockets for the key to his door. To continue the ploy, Duo
hung on Heero's shoulder like a lover might and watched with some amusement
as the other man's normally steady hand fumbled to get the key inside the lock.
Ignoring the two appalled women, they basically tumbled into the apartment and
quickly slammed the door shut behind them. With hands over their mouths and
eyes watering from suppressed laughter, they listened to a few irate and un-lady-like words coming from the women in the hallway just before the sound of two
slamming doors were heard.
Still trying to control his amusement at the whole situation, Duo kept his
hand over his mouth as he followed Heero to the kitchen, where they both took a
few minutes to rehash the now highly amusing scene.
"You can now consider yourself a free man and out of the closet," Duo said
to his friend while sitting down at the table and wiping the moisture from his eyes.
Heero shrugged, his smile still in place as he pulled off his Preventer jacket
and hung it over the back of the kitchen chair. "It was inspiration mixed with
desperation. The moment I saw you standing by my door the solution to my
nightly dilemma came to me. I realized those two would only leave me alone if
they believed I was completely unavailable. By the way, thank you."
Heero turned to the refrigerator to remove a couple of bottles of beer and
returned to the table, handing one to his friend before twisting the top off of his
own.
"You're welcome," Duo replied with a grin, accepting the cold drink. "How
long have they been vying for your attention like that?" The top of the bottle
popped open with ease.
"Since I moved in here."
"A whole year!" Duo looked at his friend with disbelief. Heero didn't talk
much about his social life, so he and the others just figured he didn't have one.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Heero shrugged, his usual answer to questions of a personal nature.
"Does this kind of thing happen often?"
"Yes, and not with just those two women. Relena was strategically parked
outside the employee entrance this evening. That's why I was late in arriving
home."
"I thought you two had that talk after the war." Duo studied his friend, who
looked strangely uncomfortable.
"We did. I talked, she didn't listen, at least not completely. She knows I
appreciate her as a friend and that I don't have any romantic feeling for her, so
she's taken it upon herself to find me a suitable girlfriend by setting me up on
dates with one social debutante after another. I can't seem to get it through her
head that I have nothing in common with those girls. She intercepted me after
work today to inform me that she has planned another excruciating evening for me
this Saturday and, as usual, she won't take no for an answer."
"Just don't go."
Heero's eyes met his friend's. "She's already set it up with the other girl and
I don't want to hurt whoever she is by standing her up. It's not her fault that Relena
is a selective listener."
Both young men took a couple of long swallows from the cold bottles in their
hands. Duo smacked his lips after lowering the glass container once more.
"Looks like we both have the same problem, people trying to set us up. But at
least we solved the fourth floor fantasy. Heero Yuy is officially off the dating
market, for women, that is. At least that's what those two will think."
Heero thoughtfully stared at the label of his bottle. "That worked pretty well,
didn't it?"
"Sure did," Duo responded with an amused grin. Then with a wishful sigh he
added, "Wish my problem could be solved as easily."
Heero's eyes slowly rose, and in them Duo saw a spark of inspiration in their
depths. "Maybe it can be." There was a long pause and a look of hesitation on
Heero's face before he asked, "Would you be willing to do something similar to
what we did in the hallway, just to throw off all the other well-intentioned match
makers?"
Duo studied his friend's face, noting the hopeful expression he wore while
waiting for his answer. If Heero meant what he thought he did, it would mean
showing everyone he had a preference in gender. Well, he mentally shrugged,
hadn't he come to that conclusion earlier that day?
"What about you, Heero? I mean, those two women believe you're gay.
Would you be comfortable having other people, especially those we work with,
believe that about you?"
Heero shrugged. "I don't see that it matters, since that's my sexual
orientation anyway."
Duo's mouth dropped open, slowly closed, then opened again. "I thought
you were strictly hetero."
"I never said I was."
"I'm sure you did," Duo answered back, sounding hesitant, his brow crinkled
in thought.
"I'm positive I didn't. No one other than Trowa has ever asked me."
"Trowa knew?"
"I thought I just said that."
"Sorry," Duo muttered, feeling both flustered and dumb. How could he not
have known something as important as his best friend's sexual orientation? If he
had known, maybe things would have been different. The whole conversation had
a surreal feeling to it. "I... I think I'm just surprised."
"You're bisexual, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm definitely leaning towards men as my preference. Women
are just too..." He paused to come up with the right word and Heero took the
opportunity to fill in the blank. "Emotional?"
"Definitely."
"Complicated?"
"Absolutely."
"Confusing?"
"You hit the nail on the head, buddy, along with picky, hormonal, demanding,
delusional and high maintenance."
Both young men shared a smirk at their mutual, somewhat over-exaggerated assessment of the opposite sex. Heero took another pull from his
bottle of beer then looked his friend squarely in the eye. "Is your aversion to dating
based on your always being set up with women?"
"No. You know I've dated both sexes, and don't get me wrong, I like
women, how they smell and feel. And Hilde's the best of them; she's a great
friend. It's not only that they're so damn hard to figure out, but also the blatant
kissing-up, the hero worship thing that gets to me, and of the two sexes the
women seem to be the worst. I just want to be liked and maybe one day loved for
the person I am, not because I was a gundam pilot or the fact that I'm drop dead
gorgeous." The cheeky grin showed his friend that he was kidding.
"Get over yourself," Heero laughed lightly, and Duo joined in. He couldn't
help but like that happt sound coming from his friend.
"Seriously," Duo began again, trying to be serious. "I've gotten used to
being alone and I kind of like it. Trowa and Quatre can't deal with that fact, and it
seems to irritate Wufei to think I'm missing something in life. Don't you think the
best part of being single is being able to make my own choices? I eat what I want,
go to bed and get up when I like and my time is my own. I don't have to answer to
anyone but myself. I'm happy enough with what I've got even though Quatre
insists that I just don't know what I'm missing."
Heero nodded, indicating that he understood and agreed. "It's my belief that
no one person can make you completely happy, that true happiness has to come
first from within yourself."
"Exactly what I've been thinking." The smile on the braided man's face grew
as he realized that Heero really did understand him. Yet as he gazed at his friend,
a look of calculation flashed in Heero's eyes. It was something he had seen many
times before when the other man was in the process of coming up with a solution
to a problem. Curious, he asked, "What are you thinking?"
"Going back to what we were talking about, I think we should do something
similar at work that we did in the hallway in order to get people to cease in their
attempts to set you up on blind dates. As for Relena, I propose that we act as if
we're dating, that we're a couple, and word will spread to her quickly enough.
Presenting ourselves as a couple, everyone, including our friends, will stop
bothering us with these unwanted dates. An added benefit is that we'll have
someone to go to social gatherings with and a viable reason for fending off
unsolicited sexual advances."
Duo thought his friend's suggestion over. It sounded like a good plan, but
he was sure there had to be some drawbacks. "Sounds good, but there's sure to
be some unforeseen complications. What if something happens... like you're not
happy with me giving you a lap dance in the office?" The teasing glint in his eyes
told Heero he wasn't entirely serious.
Pondering the first part of the question for a moment, Heero answered,
"We'll talk often and set up contingency plans. Even couples have trouble now
and then, so if he had a disagreement it should be considered a part of dating.
We'll talk any problems out. Look at Quatre and Trowa. How many times have
we had one of them on our sofa after an argument?"
"Plenty of times," Duo answered with a roll of his eyes. Really, Quatre and
Trowa seemed made for each other, but there were times when their very different
pasts caused friction between them. The other three pilots were relieved that
those arguments were becoming more and more infrequent as the two lovers
sorted out their differences through couple's therapy instead of relying on their less
than experienced friends for advice.
Heero continued. "And if either of us decides the arrangement isn't working
any longer, we'll simply call an end to it with no harm done."
"I think we should take it slow at first," Duo said, with ideas churning in his
brain as well as a mental, self-preservation yellow flag waving wildly for him to
tread cautiously. "If we just show up at work and make out in front of everyone like
we did in the hallway, no one is going to believe it's real. I mean, we're good
friends and all, but you've never shown any hint that you were interested in dating
me, or anyone else for that matter. The guys will think we're pulling some practical
joke or something."
"You're right," Heero said, nodding sagely. "Let's start slow. Tomorrow, I'll
ask you out in front of the guys. Don't be too quick to say yes or they'll get
suspicious after your dramatic exit today."
"Okay. That sounds like a plan. We'll begin to date, appear to be taking it
slow and throw all the dating hound dogs off our scent 'cause we'll look and act
involved." Duo's broad smile was contagious.
Heero returned it with one of his own and nodded. "I'll be your convenient
excuse if you'll be mine." He held his hand out to the other man.
"It's a deal, Heero." Duo took the offered hand and shook it, and then for no
real reason, an unexpected feeling of nervousness overcame him. He quickly
removed his hand and watched Heero stand, the friendly smile lingering as he
said, "I'll throw something together for dinner if you'd like to stay, then we can talk
this out a bit more."
And so it was over sukiyaki, rice and sake that the two friends began to form
a time line and approach for their upcoming ruse to finally get everyone off their
backs about dating. All in all, it was a pleasant evening, which ended around ten
p.m. when Duo suddenly realized how it was late and that they had to be at work in
the morning.
Heero saw him to the door and with his hand on the doorknob he turned,
standing only inches away from the braided man. "So you don't mind kissing me?"
Duo smiled, feeling his earlier nervousness return. "Hell no. You're a great
kisser, Heero. I'd ask who taught you, but I think I'm afraid to hear the answer."
A shy smile appeared on the Asian young man's face. He opened the door
and let Duo pass. Yet before he could walk away, Heero grasped his arm,
effectively stopping him. Surprised, Duo turned just as Heero leaned forward and
gave him a brief kiss on the lips. "Just in case they're watching," he whispered,
pulling back and shifting his eyes to indicate he was referring to his nosey
neighbors.
Duo felt flushed from that brief contact, which was ridiculous. That brief kiss
from Heero had been anything but intimate, so why did it feel like so much more?
Both young men bid each other a friendly good night and parted ways.
The ride home passed by more quickly than usual for Duo, his thoughts
focused on his deal with Heero. In the back of his mind, a small worried voice was
telling him that this was a big mistake. He'd fallen head over heels for Heero
during the war. It had been more than simple crush or lust, though the attraction
he felt towards his comrade had been ridiculously overwhelming at times. He'd
always admired Heero, respected and craved to be close to him and to have his
approval, but he was also totally bewildered by his stoicism and reserve. Heero
Yuy was a hard guy to read and understand. Relena had also been a wrench in
the works. She had pursued Heero all over Earth and even into space during
those turbulent years. He'd come to the conclusion that here was no way he could
ever compete with someone like that, a girl who had everything and was as
devoted to peace as Heero was. Through two wars and the years following, he'd
wisely kept his feelings to himself, seeing that Heero showed no inclination of
returning his feelings or that he was sexually inclined towards men. Finally, reason
overcame his heart and he'd eventually, reluctantly, given up any pursuit of Heero
Yuy other than friendship.
His apartment was dark and chilly when he entered his living room and the
lack of warmth didn't help to lighten his doubtful mood. He turned on all the lights,
put on some upbeat music and turned his attention to getting ready for bed. While
brushing his teeth he once again turned his thoughts to the next day and his and
Heero's planned deception, going over all the details, picturing them in his mind,
and anticipating the attention Heero would be giving him. It might all be an act, but
Duo decided that he was going to soak in all the close contact, every physical
touch and kiss that their acting like a couple would bring.
Once in bed he found it difficult to fall asleep. He blamed the lack of
drowsiness on his anticipation for the next day, similar to how he felt just before
beginning a battle, an infiltration mission or setting off explosives. But what was he
so excited about that it robbed him of his sleep? He tried very hard to convince
himself that the reason for his excitment was because he and Heero would finally
get everyone off his back about dating their sister, cousin or a really "sweet"
neighbor by acting like a couple. It was not, he told himself firmly, because the
idea of kissing Heero again set his heart to racing and revived a buried hope for
something more. Tomorrow, he thought with a sleepy yawn, everything would
change, and hopefully for the better.
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